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[hollypedro]

Hello- I apologize if I'm taking up space in a forum for established online educators BUT it seems to be the perfect pool of people to draw information from! I have a regular ol' 4 year BS in Communications and have always wanted to return to school for a Master's degree. I now live in a remote area where my husband works and pays the bills, leaving me somewhat unfulfilled. It was actually his idea awhile back that I look into obtaining a graduate degree (online, due to my location), then possibly teaching online as well.

I have done a bit of research as to the job market in this field, trying to get an idea of what type of Master's to pursue. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places because I just haven't found the information I'm looking for. I'd definitely have to be in the English or History area; no math! I enjoy Language Arts, reading, and histories. Adjunct does not bother me; even core classes at a junior college would make me happy!

I believe this is a career I can enjoy infinitely, even though I live in the middle of nowhere. Honestly its not feasible for me to spend the time and money on higher education unless it can be utilized online- the wildlife doesn't exactly care how much school I've finished ;) Can anyone suggest an area to look into to further my education in order to accomplish what I've mentioned? Is a university more apt to hire a graduate of their own program?

I appreciate your time and input, THANK YOU!!   

[larryc]

You are unlikely ever to land a full-time online position, but people with MAs can sometimes scare up online courses for other institutions. A friend with an MA in creative writing and some publications did online tutoring for a number of years--it did not pay particularly well but it was steady and she lived further back in the woods than you do.

(I don't know where you live but can guarantee the truth of this.)

Bottom line--an MA and a LOT of persistence could land you a handful of courses each year that would pay maybe $2,000 each. If you can teach for multiple institutions you could land more than a handful of courses.

[hollypedro]

Thank you!

[jerseyjay]

"Career" must be defined broadly. From what I gather from your post, your husband earns enough, but what you are looking for is something to "fulfill" yourself, not to make large amounts of money. If this is the case, adjuncting online might work. (But then again, there are lots of things that might allow you to occupy your time as well, e.g., writing a novel, basket weaving, etc.).


The most I have earned is $30,000 per year adjuncting at two different community colleges. But I have a doctorate, in history.

Universities or colleges tend to look for people who have experience in teaching, including but not exclusively online. They also look for people who are familiar with various platforms. You also have to be qualified to teach in the subject (which means at least 18+ graduate credits most places). Over the last 5 years, I have noticed a more professionalization of online teaching. When I first began in 2006, many of my colleagues did online teaching on the side of different jobs. Now, many more are actually academics who happen to teach online, usually not exclusively. In my department, several professors teach three classes in the classroom and one online. This, I think, means that there is less demand for outside online teachers than before.

That said, I have taught online for schools thousands of miles away. Community colleges seem to hire more than four-year universities.

A good way to start, after you get some graduate training, would be apply both at whatever school you end up attending (so to speak) and some of the more prominent profit-driven schools. They are not very good, but they do provide experience.

[voxprincipalis]

I have done a bit of research as to the job market in this field, trying to get an idea of what type of Master's to pursue. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places because I just haven't found the information I'm looking for.

Or maybe it is because in college teaching a Master's won't get you very far, at least not in the fields you're considering.

I'd definitely have to be in the English or History area; no math! I enjoy Language Arts, reading, and histories. Adjunct does not bother me; even core classes at a junior college would make me happy!

Even core classes at a junior college will be hot properties and will be fiercely competed for by people with (brick-and-mortar) PhD's.

When did you complete your undergraduate degree? What was your GPA? What are your GRE scores (if necessary for the program you hope to enter)? What are your research interests? (In short, what strengths do you have as a candidate -- besides enthusiasm, which doesn't really count in the admissions process -- to get into a Master's program at a program good enough to give you a chance of eventually getting some/any part-time teaching work?) In addition, both History and English are *terribly* over-saturated fields.

Grad school is not just Undergrad, Continued. It's a different arena, with different expectations. I don't know how much of that carries over into online masters' programs, but certainly at brick-and-mortar institutions it is often a huge and unexpected adjustment for new grad students who went to grad school because they "liked school" or "liked undergrad" or whatever. YMMV, of course.

VP

[larryc]

What about teaching K-12? You could do some subbing to see how you like it.

[anthroid]

What about teaching K-12? You could do some subbing to see how you like it.

This is probably the better idea.

OP, we don't teach "Language Arts" at the college level, just FYI.  And read the post from Vox Principalis very carefully.  Becoming a college professor is not something to do on a whim.  I also strongly advise you to stay away from the for-profit on-line programs (U of Phoenix, Capella, etc.) for your master's work, as very few non-profit colleges or universities will even look at your c.v. with that kind of credential.

[caesura]

If you decide to pursue this and don't really care what you get a Master's in, I'd recommend you think about getting one in Education.  You could focus on an aspect of education that interests you, such as teaching and curriculum development in language arts.  Education is one of the largest areas in online education.  Lots of places offer bachelor's degrees in education and, theoretically at least, you would be able to teach those courses with a Master's.  There are many more Education courses in the online world than there are courses in "straight" academic disciplines like English or History. 

If that appeals, I'd start by researching schools that offer a bachelor's in education and see what classes they offer that you might be interested in teaching someday.  Also, look at their job openings to see what fields they need teachers in and what their requirements are. 

[ellaminnow]

If you decide to pursue this and don't really care what you get a Master's in, I'd recommend you think about getting one in Education.  You could focus on an aspect of education that interests you, such as teaching and curriculum development in language arts.  Education is one of the largest areas in online education.  Lots of places offer bachelor's degrees in education and, theoretically at least, you would be able to teach those courses with a Master's. There are many more Education courses in the online world than there are courses in "straight" academic disciplines like English or History. 

If that appeals, I'd start by researching schools that offer a bachelor's in education and see what classes they offer that you might be interested in teaching someday.  Also, look at their job openings to see what fields they need teachers in and what their requirements are. 

Actually, it's very unlikely that one would be able to teach education courses with an MA and no other teaching experience at any accredited institution (online or face-to-face).  She would have to have at minimum a teaching license, 3-5 years of classroom teaching experience, and some doctoral-level coursework underway.  This might qualify her for some of the for-profit teaching certification/administration mills, but even those places mostly hire online faculty who have had a dozen or more years of classroom teaching experience.   

[reener06]

Jeans notwithstanding, OP, this is a tougher market to break into than I think you know. When I had an MA, I picked up courses twice, I think, only through lots of networking/word of mouth/luck falling in my lap. When I was ABD, again, I picked up a course at the community college b/c I was willing to take it on midway through the semester. It took another year before they called me again--not b/c they didn't like me, but b/c they had too many other adjuncts who had PhDs. Now that I've been teaching for them for 2 years & have the PhD, I am offered online courses once a year. They are highly wanted among adjuncts in my town--one adjunct begged me to switch with him for a regular class, but I couldn't. See, I also teach two other courses at the university. I'm doing 5 courses this semester (2 online) and need the money. With that said, I'll earn about 13,000 for the semester before taxes (5 courses, 2 campuses). Next semester they won't offer me any online b/c they a)only offer them once a year and b)I already got them.

So, if you can afford to go into debt for the master's, or are financially secure via hubby, and you can luck into teaching at a community college while up against PhDs in an incredibly tight market, and you don't mind the low pay & long hours and being on call long hours for students, and you can put in facetime in classes for a few semesters before you luck into online (if the regular CC faculty haven't taken them all first), by all means, go for it. But I'd agree with whoever told you to stay away from history or english.